Atlanta United 2 signs Alessandro Castro from Academy

Honduran international won 2016-17 National Championship with Atlanta United’s U-16 squad

Atlanta United 2 today announced it has signed midfielder Alessandro Castro, pending league and federation approval.

“We’re excited to welcome a player we know well to ATL UTD 2,” head coach Scott Donnelly said. “Ale is another product of our excellent academy, and has shown himself to be a technical and versatile midfield player. He has a strong sense for the game and is ready for this step. We look forward to having him with us full-time, as this is an important step in his development.”

An 18-year-old midfielder from Atlanta, Castro joins ATL UTD 2 from the club’s Academy where he has played since the program launched in 2016. In the Academy’s first season, Castro was an integral part of the U-16 team which won the U.S. Soccer Development Academy National Championship. He appeared in 31 matches and made 29 starts while scoring four goals as the team finished with a final record of 24-4-8. This past season, Castro made 23 appearances, 18 starts, for the U-19 team and scored one goal.

Castro has two appearances this season with ATL UTD 2 and made his professional debut May 19 at Louisville City FC.

The dynamic midfielder was selected to Honduras’ squad for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India where he made two appearances against Japan and France. He also was called-up by Honduras for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

ATL UTD 2’s season continues Friday, July 6 against New York Red Bulls II at MSU Soccer Park. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.